Binding Machines Buying Guide

A coil binding machine uses plastic coils that are spun through the punched holes and crimped at the ends. Coil binding is flexible and is great for a wide variety of binding needs. Documents, handouts, manuals, calendars and more are perfect for a coil binding machine.

Coil binding is a continuous PVC filament formed into the shape of a spring. You may recognize this type of binding. It is very similar to the spiral notebooks you may have used in school.

As with plastic comb binding and double loop wire binding, you can purchase the coil binding machine with a manual or electric punch. You will have to make the decision as to what your work load will be. A manual punch will be fine for a small to medium work load. You will probably want an electric punch if you will be involved in larger volume binding.

Some machines include a motor run coil inserter which will quickly turn the coils through the holes. However, most coil binding machines require that you insert the coils yourself. Coil binding is available with 4:1 pitch binding and 5:1 pitch binding. 4:1 machines punch 4 holes per inch and the 5:1 machines punch 5 holes per inch. You need to make sure you get the correct coils for your machine.

The main features for coil binding machine are :

• Coil bindings allow document pages to turn a full 360 degrees and lie flat for easy note taking and photocopying.
• Coil is available in a wide range of colors.
• Coil is great for bound media that is mailed because of its resiliency. If the binding is bent in shipping, it will bounce back to its original shape.
• 4:1 coils can bind from 1/4″ (20 sheets of 20 pound paper) up to 1 1/4″ (230 sheets of 20 pound paper).
• 5:1 coils can bind from 1/4″ (20 sheets of 20 pound paper) up to 13/16” (152 sheets of 20 pound paper).
• Most machines easily fit on a desktop.

The steps involved in coil binding are :

1. Punch the sheets for your books. Make sure your pages are all the way against the back wall and completely flush against the side guide. Do not try to punch more pages than recommended for your machine.
2. If you do not have an electric inserter, then manually twist or roll your coil into the book.
3. If you have an electric inserter, manually insert the coil into the first few holes, then use the feed wheel or roller to insert the coil.
4. Make sure the red dot on your pliers is facing up. While keeping the pliers flat and horizontal to your work table, squeeze the pliers tight and without releasing, twist them clockwise to crimp. The deeper you can get the coil into the pliers the nicer the crimp will be.